There were a few more upgrades that we wanted to do this year including adding “rain flashing” over our 4 large window hatches and adding a back rest in our cockpit.
These might seem like “small” upgrades but they add a lot of comfort value to the boat.
Quick Upgrade Summary:
- Rain Flashing for windows
- Back Rest in Cockpit
- Inflatable Fenders
- Forward Scan Transducer
- VHF Microphone at the Helm
Rain Flashing
Sugar Shack has (4) large hatches and (3) small hatches on each side of the boat. The large hatches let in a lovely breeze and are open as often as possible.
However, when it rains, we have to run around closing all of the hatches to prevent water from getting inside the boat.
As you can imagine, it gets very hot in the tropics. When it rains and the large hatches are closed it becomes unbearable on the boat.
The water drips into the cut out which then drops behind the hinge and into the boat.
We had to do something that would allow us to leave the windows open during the rain without soaking the interior.
Ian on Tavake (a Catana 431) had made rain flashing that inspired us to do something similar. Unfortunately he no longer had the mold so we had to start from scratch.
Scott our fiberglass fabricator was able to make a pattern to build the mold.
We were able to make 4 rain flashings for our large windows once the mold was completed.
Matt scratched the back of the carbon pieces, adhered 3M VHB tape and we were done!
Shortly after install we had our first rain and they worked perfectly.
Back Rest in Cockpit
A small yet irritating issue with the cockpit is the lack of back support.
Many Catana owners added a back rest that sits between the salon main window and the cockpit main seating.
Our friend Eric, on El Gato (Catana 472) had drawn up these design specs. We used this as a guideline and made our own modifications.
However, we did not want it as tall so we made it shorter than the 10 3/8″ height.
In addition, we wanted a round, not square mounting bracket.
Once the back rest was manufactured we had it electro-polished at Spiralweld in Auckland. This will protect it and keep it shiny with minimal polishing effort on my part.
New Inflatable Fenders
Sugar Shack came with (4) A4 large, round fenders and (8) F4 pencil fenders. We later added fender covers to protect the fenders and the boat. These fenders have served us very well. However, they do take up a lot of space in the forward bow peak.
So, we decided to purchase new inflatable fenders. We went to Hauraki Fenders and purchased (8) Medium 350x1100mm (1’x3.6′) fenders and fender covers.
We are super excited to try out our new fenders! For safety reasons, we kept the (4) A4 round fenders so that we always had fenders at the ready.
I did not want to unpack the tightly packed fenders for a photo op so you get a generic photo.
Forward Scan Transducer
We decided it was time to purchase a forward scan transducer which will allow us to see the gradient ground levels in front of us.
This forward-looking sonar provides a clear two-dimensional image of the bottom in front of us, allowing us to navigate shallow or poorly-charted waters with confidence. With real-time updates and a forward-looking view of up to eight times our current depth.
This will be a useful tool while anchoring. We bought it from B&G for roughly $1200.
VHF Handheld at the Helm
We have our “big” VHF at the navigation station and (2) small hand held VHF units. However, we have never had a VHF Microphone at the helm station.
A rather small inconvenience, but one that has irked us for awhile. So, it was time to install one. Matt ordered a white ICOM IC-HM 195S Command Mic IV from Amazon for $241.
Purchasing and Contact Info:
- Scott Banks, Fabricator, Whangarei, NZ +64.22.380.3972. Fabricated the helm pedestal extensions and the window rain flashing
- Stainless Fabricator: Phil Waddell, hardout98@icloud.com, and his wife Joy Waddell, joyw2@icloud.com. +64.21.280.6356
- Spiraweld, www.spiraweld.co.nz, +64.09.576.1199
Be sure to check out our other upgrades on “Impactful Upgrades” blog post.
Our blog posts run 8-10 weeks behind actual live events.
We worked on these two projects for several months over November 2025 through January 2026.
